ArmInfo. "We hope that the European Union will show political will in the direction of the soonest signing of the Agreement on an expanded and comprehensive partnership with Armenia," head of the parliamentary commission on foreign affairs Armen Ashotyan stated in an interview with ArmInfo, stressing that the administration of such documents by the European The sides are quite complex, certain technical issues may arise.
He reminded that the document should be signed by all EU countries, meanwhile, many of them are currently in the pre-election cycle. "Nevertheless, I hope that the EU will show political will and the document will be signed in the near future," he said, stressing that Armenia is ready to sign the document at the upcoming Eastern Partnership summit in November, and this was announced by the highest the country's leadership. Ashotyan also stressed the importance of the fact that the document fixes the provision on the necessity of a peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group. "This means that the EU officially emphasizes its disagreement with the destructive policy of Baku in the Karabakh settlement," he said.
Let us note that the document consists of 357 pages and 386 chapters and regulates the general principles, approaches and values of political and economic cooperation between Armenia and the EU. As for the economic component of the document, it says that Armenia should bring its economic policy in line with EU standards. In turn, the EU undertakes to assist in ensuring the independence of the Central Bank of Armenia, the stability of prices in the country's market, and its financial reliability. In the political part of the document, the emphasis is on simplifying the visa regime and starting a dialogue on its liberalization with a view to stimulating mutual visits of RA and EU citizens. The agreement also contains provisions on the Karabakh conflict.
The document stresses the importance of Armenia's readiness to settle the Karabakh conflict peacefully and the need for its early resolution within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group. The document also talks about Armenia's obligation to close the nuclear power plant and build a new one. Note that it was originally announced that the document was signed in November at the Eastern Partnership summit in Riga, but now many experts predict that the signing will not take place in the announced terms. Initially, the parties also did not announce the promulgation of the document until its final signing, but by mutual consent it was decided to familiarize the Armenian and EU societies with it before signing.